Posted on 03/29/2014 9:48:27 PM PDT by nickcarraway
TBILISI, Georgia—Halfway through an otherwise coherent conversation with a Georgian lawyer last week—the topics included judges, the court system, the police—I was startled by a comment he made about his country’s former government, led by ex-president Mikheil Saakashvili. “They were LGBT,” he said, conspiratorially.
What did that mean, I asked, surprised. Were they in favor of rights for sexual minorities? For gay marriage? Were they actually gay? He couldn’t really define it, though the conversation meandered in that direction for a few more minutes, also touching on the subject of the former president’s alleged marital infidelity, his promotion of female politicians, his lack of respect for the church.
Afterward, I worked it out. The lawyer meant to say that Saakashvili—who drove his country hard in the direction of Europe, who pulled Georgia as close to NATO as possible, who used rough tactics to fight the post-Soviet mafia that dominated his country—was “too Western.” Not conservative enough. Not traditional enough. Too much of a modernizer, a reformer, a European. In the past, such a critic might have called Saakashvili a “rootless cosmopolitan.” But nowadays the insulting code word for that sort of person in the former Soviet space—regardless of what he or she actually thinks about gay people—is “LGBT.”
It was an eye-opening moment. Like Ukraine, Georgia is a post-Soviet republic that has tried to pull itself out of the sphere of Russian influence. Unlike Ukraine, Georgia does not have a sizable Russian-speaking population, and Georgians even have cause to fear Russia. Since their 2008 invasion, Russian troops have occupied the Georgian regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, about one-fifth of the country. Russian tanks are parked a few hours drive from Georgia’s capital.
(Excerpt) Read more at slate.com ...
How about for Japan against China then?
They remember the bombing all too well.
“and he hates the gay agenda enough to make it his dominant concern”
Do you really believe what you typed here — that Putin hates gays and that this is his dominant concern?
Are your friends anti-Saakashvili?
What do you think of Condi Rice’s book that says Saakashvili started the war in Georgia?
i think you’re confused. it’s not just slate, but all left leaning operations are against traditional family and common sense
this is why they are despised by a majority of the world
Wasn’t there some exasperated newscaster last week who said he wanted a “gaycation” - that is, a vacation from stories about gays? I imagine they fired him immediately.
I don’t know what it is about the left’s obsession with gays, except that they see them as being the nail in the coffin for Judeo-Christian sexual morality and traditional family structure, which liberals apparently feel have been holding them back from true self-realization. Or something.
Interesting that even the Russians know enough to use the “gay identity” acronym (LGBT) as shorthand for liberalism.
It’s utterly absurd to suggest that opposition to the gay agenda or globalism in Georgia or any other country is being caused by Russia.
This is what being a liberal AND a neocon does to your brain.
Well, it's possible that his views on gays is like his views on Christ's church. That is, that he's cynical about that too.
“and he hates the gay agenda enough to make it his dominant concern”
OK, if you’re right that Putin’s dominant concern is hatred of gay agenda, what do you predict Putin will do next with the issue of gays?
Russia currently has no laws that outlaw gay people or gay sex. (Several states in the USA have laws against gay sex)
Do you think he will advocate new laws against them?
Or maybe send them to camps or something?
Poor Misha may have been guilty of the same thing so many other countries do - trying to get us to be a big brother.
These people (I mean useful idiots, agents are another pair of shoes) apparently do not understand that there is no international conservative front. Putin supports Christianity ? He does support the Moscow Patriarchate as it is basically a department of Russian government, so a useful tool in their hands. Non-Russian controlled Christian churches ? They have more problems operating in Russia than in some of the Arab countries. Putin is against global warming madness ? Right, “green” idiots in Europe are largely financed by the Kremlin. Why ? They are pushing anti-coal, anti-nukes and pro natural gas (until it is Russian of course) agenda in Europe. Eco propaganda + corruption, that's how they made Europe a hostage of Russian gas.
Similarly, during the cold war, majority of those “peace” movements were organized and supported by Kremlin. Soviet Union was spending 30% of GDP on military but clowns financed by them were claiming 4-5% spent by the west was “provocative”. Why ? Make them weak. I wouldn't be surprised if today a lot of homo nonsense or Obama campaign were actually financed by Gazprom. So much for the shirtless “conservative”.
Hey, you're a Putinista. Go for it. If it serves his Imperial designs, maybe you can be his queen.
Putin’s queer bait; he wants the attention. Dude is a real pansy.
“I suspect that Putin is a homosexual, frankly. He has a lot of very queer attributes. And his admirers, too, seem attracted to his queer bait persona. Hmmm, it makes me wonder, are you gay? Not that there is anything wrong with it or the fusion of gayness and Russian chauvinism.
Hey, you’re a Putinista. Go for it. If it serves his Imperial designs, maybe you can be his queen. “
OK, I didn’t realize you were one of the people on here who is big on schoolyard insults, wild accusations, and character assassination.
You had an unusual theory that Putin’s “dominant motivation” was being anti-gay, so I asked you based on that what you thought he would do next regarding the issue. Whether introducing new laws or rounding them up or something.
I don’t understand how that merits your response, but if it makes you feel with it, and the people who run this place are ok with it, whatever?
Have a good day.
True, in terms of geopolitical behavior it's actually closer to the old Russian Empire.
Russia is not a serious ideological or military threat to the West.
Certain pieces of "the West", say, Estonia, are not going to agree with the latter 1/2 of that. And if Russia is not a serious military threat, then, from a military standpoint, why not put troops in, say, Kherson, Ukraine, as a tripwire?
As for ideology, I am not so sure: We are as a whole more decadent and soft, not to mention divided, no?
More important though, is that any current Russian "threat" is relatively irrelevant. What will kill us is the logical progression of events if the US, and especially its people, are found to be lacking will and integrity, both by those with whom we have security agreements, and by those who are restrained in their agression by those alliances.
The West should be more concerned with its own economic, political and social well being.
Lack of either internal or external focus will be our ruin.
Oh, well then, if you’re not a Putinista, I misjudged you.
There is no question that Russia is not the USSR but it is also true that modern America is not the United States of 1960. There is no longer the strong consensus of faith, morality and personal integrity that once made America a stalwart to celebrate freedom and resist communism. Sadly the culture has changed. It is important to remember that the election and reelection of Obama did not happen in a political vacuum.
It is important to recognize new realities. NATO was formed to create a common defense against a triumphant, powerful ideological foe. It was very necessary from 1946 thru 1990. However that threat no longer exists. The United States finds itself funding and manning much of the EU defense. What is worse is those treaty obligations and NATO expansion, the United States could find itself involved in conflicts that have almost no bearing on the security and critical interests of the United States. For instance if one day Syria supported by Iran and Russia were to start a border war with Turkey, would it be appropriate for young American to die and American resources committed? Ukraine is a hybrid state. The Eastern sections are Orthodox and Russophilic. The Western sections are Catholic and identify with the West. Somehow the locals have to work out their own consensus.
The next thirty years will be critical for the United States. Sadly it does seem to be entering a post Christian neo pagan decadent multicultural era. Much has to happen domestically before it has the power and influence it once had.
OK, so back to your theory about Putin:
“and he hates the gay agenda enough to make it his dominant concern”.
Since you think that Putin is primarily motivated by hatred of gays, what do you predict he will do next?
Introduce laws banning gays or gay sex, rounding them up in gulags or what?
It’s not illegal to be gay or have gay sex in Russia currently.
Would you agree that one of the primary ways of distinguishing between conservative and leftist is tax policy and the size of government they advocate?
Steve Forbes pushed for a flat tax of 17%, which was deemed too extreme by some of his conservative primary opponents.
Politically, it seems to have no chance of passing.
Russia today has a flat tax of 13%.
In light of this key fact, which would you say is more socialist today — Russia or the USA?
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